What have I been missing on HGTV?

Apparently I’ve been missing a wonderful garden designer named Shirley Bovshow! I just stumbled across a stunning before & after post on her blog EdenMakers for often under-utilized spaces, narrow side yards.

I’ve been longing to have a shady, peaceful walk down the fenced side of the house since the day we moved in. I imagine lots of ferns, hostas, ivy, some climbing hydrangea… all surrounding a tidy path of flagstones. I’m wanting a little water feature perhaps, plus low landscape lighting.

This would be my dog-free garden where I could walk at night and not have to worry about, well, the fact that dogs had been in there. You know, doing that thing that dogs do. I love to walk around when I’m brainstorming or just have something on my mind. My long side yard has some potential… but right now, it’s a wreck!

The previous owners made an unfortunate choice for the area. Apparently frustrated by weeding and maintenance, they had a truckload of red, volcanic landscape rock ( <- yes, it’s actually that color) dumped and spread over landscape cloth along the entire length of the house. It’s still there. I’ve been waiting for inspiration to strike before I hauled it all off, one wheelbarrow load at a time.

Laurel Street Blog

Well, hey there. I'm Nathan and this is the Laurel Street Blog. It's a place for talking about design, decor and DIY (with small amounts of snarkery snuck in). I'm a pretty restless guy who loves house projects and lives in a 150+ year old cottage on Laurel Street in New Orleans. Since the house always has something going on with it (or falling off of it) I'm subsequently blessed with a never-ending supply of Web content to share. Oh - and you can drop me a line anytime LaurelStreetNola@gmail.com. Enjoy!